Movies and Streaming Video

Last year I reviewed a small Alexa-enabled speaker from FABRIQ. (Read the review.) I was impressed but wished it had the voice-enabled feature that makes my Amazon Echo so great. Now FABRIQ has released an updated device. The Chorus is bigger, sounds better and is voice activated. It is Amazon Alexa-enabled AND Bluetooth and costs under $100.

Cord cutting just got easier with the Tablo Dual OTA DVR, an Over-The-Air DVR that allows you to stream or record two free HD broadcast channels at once. With 64GB built-in storage and Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, you can get streaming right out of the box; all you need is an antenna.

Last year, VIZIO sent a 2016 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR Home Theater Display for review. We set it up in our bedroom and love it! (Read the review here.) So I was thrilled when VIZIO offered me one of their brand new 36″ 5.1 VIZIO SmartCast Wireless Sound Bar Systems. It is the perfect complement to the display.

Lots of people lament the effect smartphones have had on social interaction. When people today hang out, it’s not uncommon for there to be moments or even minutes of silence as everyone in the group looks at their phones.

There are many reasons to be excited about summer; good weather, more time outside, delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, bbq … but you’d better get your fill before August 18, because that’s when Marvel’s “The Defenders” drops on Netflix!

My living room offers a great media experience thanks to a large 4K Vizio display and full surround-sound audio system via Sonos. The bedroom has the 55” Vizio display I reviewed. (Read the review) Thanks to the JBL Cinema SB450 Soundbar, our bedroom offers a great audio experience; this is an impressive audio system, and I am a huge fan.

If you haven’t yet read Dave Egger’s “The Circle“, I highly recommend it. It’s fantastic, building a world around a company that is part Facebook, part Google, where your privacy is an obstacle to their success. When I heard there was a movie being made, I was partially excited and partially concerned. Based on the trailer, the movie will have…

Streaming video is where everyone wants to be, and the newest entry is a modern take on portraying a hungry zombie, desperate to return to its old life and consuming the living as a poor substitute for true life force. Yes, Apple Music is entering the video business. Oh, and Netflix has a cool new show with Drew Barrymore and…

Just about every person who identifies as anything other than straight has their “story”. We all have that moment where the niggle in the back of our head, the one said “something is different” finally turned into a full-blown realization. It’s something I’ve personally never seen expressed well in television … until Supergirl.

If you read my review a few months ago about the Tablo DVR system and were off put about needing to buy extra accessories like antennas, you are in luck as Tablo announced today their Over-The-Air HDTV DVR system is now available for the Xbox One.

Yesterday I received a special offer ( CODE AC162FS36U ) from Cox Cable to subscribe to their Contour Flex Starter for $15/month which includes all my local channels plus HBO. This fits my viewing habits almost perfectly.

The movie Loving caught my eye not only because it’s a love story with a perfect title, but because it is based on the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple in Virginia during the Jim Crow era and the early days of the Civil Rights Movement.

Amazon just introduced an updated Fire TV Stick which is priced at $39.99 and due for release on October 20, 2016. The new device looks and acts a lot like the old one with the addition of Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant.

If you haven’t heard of a little company by the name of Plex, you’ve probably been living under a rock. The popular media player and server announced today a service that will make sure you are never without your favorite music, movies, and photos again.

Assassin HTPC, one of the top names in the Home Theater PC game, is back in the news with their new Assassin Micro Media Extender. It’s a pint-sized PC that runs on Android that comes preconfigured with Assassin HTPC customized software that’s ready to use straight out of the box. The Assassin Micro retails for $249.99, including lifetime cloud updates.

Comic Con 2016 in San Diego is over, and one of the best things to come out of it (beyond all of the amazing cosplay) are the newest previews for some of the upcoming movies and television shows. I’m probably most excited about Snowden, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Wonder Woman — oh, and King Arthur.

Ah, summer. Long days, warm nights, and storms full of razor sharp teeth…yes, Sharknado is back again! You may recall that the last segment opened with President Mark Cuban, Vice President Anne Coulter, and Ian Ziering fighting sharks at the White House, and ended with David Hasselhoff on the moon and a shark about to land on Tara Reid. If…

Look, I know there’s a lot of drama around the reboot of “Ghostbusters”. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time; the first time I was floor manager at Borders, I ran around telling people “I AM THE KEYMASTER!” But I am beyond excited for the reboot too, because funny people+cool premise+good director=fun movie. But not the theme song….

The Libratone ZIPP was one of my all-time favorite speakers. It looked great, sounded amazing, and let you customize the look with exchangeable covers. With portable AirPlay it was as close to the perfect speaker for an iOS-user as you could find. Now Libratone has rebooted the ZIPP and they are offering the smaller, and less expensive, Libratone ZIPP MINI….

If you have a Netflix subscription and haven’t watched “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Orange is the New Black”, please head off to binge both immediately. We’ll wait here. If you’re back, keep reading, because the tribute video of your dreams was released by Netflix yesterday, where the ladies of Litchfield celebrate the upcoming Kimmy Schmidt season 2 release with “Honey…

I’m a huge fan of my Apple Airpods. They’re small, light, and sound great for everyday use. But I wanted to differentiate myself from every other guy on the streets of New York City. Enter BlackPods, a New Jersey-based customization service that beautifully re-finishes those stark white AirPods Black.